Jose L. Holguin

Jose L. Holguin (February 1, 1921 – March 22, 1994) was a United States Air Force colonel, who was the navigator and sole survivor of a World War II mission that ended with a crash on June 26, 1943, in the jungles of New Britain, now Papua New Guinea.Holguin was awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Prisoner of War and Army Commendation medals.[1] Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Holguin joined the Army Air Force[2] and by August 1942 had received his navigator's wings at Mather Field.[1] During World War II, he was a navigator[3] and he and his fellow soldiers managed with ineffective charts of the Pacific, difficult weather, and high mountains.With a broken back and having been shot in his leg and jaw, he crawled to the plane's wreckage through the jungle and saw the dead bodies of his fellow crewmen.He made three trips to New Britain, where he found the wreckage of Naughty but Nice, the nickname for the B-17 he and his crewmates operated that had a calendar girl painted on the nose of the plane.
CaliforniaLos Feliz, Los AngelesUnited States Air ForceColonelWorld War IISilver StarPurple HeartDistinguished Flying CrossPrisoner of WarPapua New GuineaSanta Ana, CaliforniaNew SpainHernán CortésBelmont High Schoolattack on Pearl HarborTucson, ArizonaB-17 Flying FortressesPort MoresbyNew BritainRabaulRandolph FieldWilliams FieldStrategic Air CommandKorean WarHonoluluNational Memorial Cemetery of the PacificAlan CranstonVerdugo Hills High Schoolpost-traumatic stress disorderNavigator BadgeAir MedalArmy Commendation MedalPrisoner of War MedalPresidential Unit CitationAmerican Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medalcampaign starsWorld War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service MedalAir Force Longevity Service Ribbonoak leaf clustersOverseas Service Bars